


The Doctor and his Apprentice

by fandomgeek14



Series: Tales from The Arcana [2]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M, Female Apprentice (The Arcana), Implied/Referenced Character Death, Mentioned Asra (The Arcana), Not Really Character Death, The Arcana (Visual Novel) Spoilers, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-12-27 00:48:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18293480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomgeek14/pseuds/fandomgeek14
Summary: Freya (the apprentice) had become Julian, the plague doctor’s apprentice after her fall out with Asra.  their time together is cut short rather abruptly after Freya discovers something horrifying and neglects to tell her new friend.





	The Doctor and his Apprentice

Freya Hawley stepped out of her shop. It had been a week. A week after the fight Asra had left the shop and not returned.

She wondered down the market place, searching for supplies when she almost walked into a tall man with red hair and silver eyes.

“Are you alright?”

“I-I- I’m fine”

“You seem a little nervous”

“I- I don’t like new social interactions”

“Well, in that case, let’s make it less awkward, my name’s Julian Devorak” he gave an exaggerated bow

“The plague doctor?”

“The very same”

“Freya”

“Sorry?”

“My name’s Freya. Freya Hawley”

“Hawley rings a bell”

“My aunt owned the Apothecary before she died- her maiden name was Hawley”

“That was it- I used to get my leeches there before her husband made her stop selling them. who owns it now?”

“That would be me and-“ Freya hesitated remembering about the fight and the likely hood of Asra coming back was slim to none since he was so unpredictable. “-just me”

“Oh?”

“Yes- and before you ask I’m in a relationship”

“I- ah wasn’t going to do that”

“I’m teasing, or at least trying to anyway”

“So? What’s your deal? A pretty girl in a market would be up by the bread stall or jewellery not down the odd bits and ingredients”

“I wish I could help the plague victims so I was simply trying to get some stuff that might help”

“You could help me. I could do with a helping hand, we’d both find a cure quicker that way- been looking for an apprentice”

“Apprentice?”

“Yes”

“I’d like to help”

“Perfect I’ll pick you up this evening and we can get started!”

 

Three weeks later:

“So what’s for dinner?”

“Steak stew”

“Steak stew? That’s a new one”

“You bet it is”

“Freya?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re looking warm”

“I’m fine”

“If you say so”

“Julian would you like to try it?”

“I would die for cooking!”

“Always so dramatic”

“I’m not that dramatic”

Julian bent his head to Freya’s height and took a sip of the stew from the spoon. It was the best stew he’d tasted in a while. It was then that the pair of them realised how close their faces were. Julian gazed at Freya’s lips then their eyes met they gazed at each other before Freya looked away quickly. She could not be feeling something for Julian as well as Asra it was not possible.

“I’ll set the table”

“I was thinking-“ Freya suddenly coughed

“Freya?”

“I was thinking we could give the left overs to the sick”

“Good idea. That would help comfort them. You’re turning out to be a good apprentice we’ll make a doctor of you yet!”

Freya turned back to the stew, hoping that her cough and temperature was just a cold and that she would not wake up tomorrow with extremely red bloodshot eyes.

She woke up the next morning with exactly that. So she hid it with a glamour spell.

 

One week later

Freya was packing the medical suppliesup for their rounds the following evening. Her mind turned to the last few weeks from the argument onwards and how much she missed Asra. She hoped Arsa would be home soon so that she could apologise before she left, that was all she wanted to do. Freya was well aware of what came next. She did not have long left until the Plague took full effect. at the very least she probably had a month left (from her observations of other plague victims) at most, she wouldn’t be there when a cure was found. She suddenly found herself feeling the worse she had ever felt. She felt dizzy and sick. She coughed and a bit of blood came out into her hand. She glanced horrified at it before looking back at Julian. She had to tell him. Maybe he had a cough remedy or something.

“Julian?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you have-“

She stood up and immediately felt light headed

“Freya?”

Freya stumbled forwards towards Julian

“Julian-“

She started to sway and the doctor ran forwards and caught her,

“Freya? What’s wrong? Tell me what’s wrong”

Her glamour spell to hide her eyes disappeared in her weakness revealing the whites had gone red.

“No- no- not you”

“I’m sorry”

“You should have told me-“

“I-I didn’t want you to fret”

“you should have told me Freya”

“Julian you’d have made me stop helping”

“It can’t be you Freya”

“I’m sorry”

“I should have realised”

“What’s done is done you can’t change the past”

“Freya-“

“Please don’t argue with me. arguing about helping is what caused the fight between me and-“

“And your lover?”

Freya gave a weak nod

“I’ll help you, I could-“

“Julian, there’s no cure”

“I’ll make one, just hang on for me”

“no. I don’t want you catching it. You’re the plague doctor”

“Freya-“

Freya became tired

“Ilya”

“Yes?”

“Could you do something for me?”

“Anything”

“If you see Asra around- if you meet him, tell him I’m sorry and it was not his fault”

Julian nodded

“I will”

“Thank you” Freya smiled “I’m getting rather tired, I think I’m just going to close my eyes and rest for a while”

Her eyes dropped shut and she slipped into a sleep.

“Freya no don’t sleep- Freya!”

Julian held his apprentice in his arms and watched as her body burned up with a fever.

When she bumped into him in the market place one day a few months ago, she’d waltzed into his life and refused to leave, she was beautiful with that firey ginger hair and dark emerald eyes, kind, funny, a little shy butdetermined. She’d offered to help with working on a cure for the plague and he’d taken her up on that offer. The time she’d spent with him was short but sweet, they’d become close friends and she’d become more confident around him and even eventually she’d opened up about her relationship with some magician and the argument that had lead her to be so unsure of where their relationship stood because he’d stormed off and not returned. However there was also something between them, some kind of tension she never acted upon because she was not a cheater. They’d both hoped however, that they’d be friends for a long time, but now, now, she was too far gone. And he knew what that meant, beyond trying to save, as much as he longed to. There was only one place she could go. The Lazaret.

 

Julian ran to the docks with his apprentice in his arms. Checking her life signs every few minutes. He got to the boat, with the plague victims all in varying stages. There was a few men and women in there however the only thing that made Julian’s heart sink was the sight of a single child sat in the centre of the boat, looking terrified, ready to go to her death. the man in charge of the boat offered to take Freya from him. Julian refused. Placing her down in the boat gently, he smiled at her sadly.

“I’m sorry, Freya”

He placed one single kiss on her sweat covered forehead and stepped away, watching as the boat floated away to the island in the distance, promising to find a cure no matter what it took. On her behalf. He’d find one.

 

 


End file.
